Steven Vaughn Franklin, 62, of Marshall, was walking on a busy highway when he was struck.

The collision happened a little before 8 p.m. on N.C. 280 near the intersection of Turnpike Road.

The Highway Patrol said the woman who struck Franklin had no idea what she hit until investigators were on scene, and found his body.

"Obviously, she’s shaken up. In this situation, anyone would be shaken up. But she was driving east on N.C. 280, and she didn't know what it was in the road. And she hit her brakes, tried to avoid it and could not. And she later found out it was a person," First Sgt. Jeremy Ledford said.

Troopers said Franklin was in the lane closest to the center turn lane when he was struck.

The road is open, but investigators are still reconstructing the scene.

"We're trying to figure out why the person was in the road," Ledford said.